


Split Second Decision

by Crazyhotsoup



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Arthur Whump, Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Drabble, Gun Violence, Killing, Murder, Panic, Pre-Canon, Vomiting, Whump, Whump Fic, Young Arthur Morgan, Young Dutch van der Linde, whump drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:26:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25798897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazyhotsoup/pseuds/Crazyhotsoup
Summary: The first time Arthur kills a man
Comments: 8
Kudos: 31





	Split Second Decision

Arthur's gaze darted between the two men. Dutch, on his ass, gun too far away. And Jimmy, his friend, towering over Dutch. Jim had his hands up, pleading with Arthur to let him go. 

"Put the gun down, kid." Jimmy's voice was high with worry. Arthur adjusted his grip on the gun, glaring at his friend. 

He was stuck. Torn between two people he didn't want to choose between. 

"He can't do that, Jim, you know that." Dutch's voice cut through the too thick air. 

Nothing ever went right for him. It had been a simple job. Him, Dutch, and Jimmy. He was supposed to have split off from them, but something had told him to turn back. He had found them in the middle of a fistfight. Dutch's gun flew from his grip just as Arthur cocked his own. 

"Arthur, _please_." He felt tears well up in his eyes. His hands shook as he kept the gun level with Jim. 

"Jimmy, why?" Jim's mouth floundered. A slight movement, Jim's hand slipped onto the butt of his gun. Arthur willed him to move his hand away. Jim slowly slipped his gun from the holster. His nose pricked with tears and he felt them slip down his cheeks. 

Arthur's finger squeezed the trigger and Jimmy collapsed in a gurgling heap. He dropped the revolver. Distantly, he heard the clink of it hitting the gravel. 

Arthur dropped to his hands and knees. His breaths came in halting gasps. He listened to Jimmy's groans and wet gasps. 

The jagged rocks dug into his palms as he crawled towards his friend. He pulled Jim's head into his lap. His hands worried over his forehead and cheeks. 

"I'm sorry, Jim. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Jim gurgled and he looked into Arthur's eyes. All he saw in Jim's eyes was fear. His lips were bloody, more was in his mouth. Tears slipped into the dark hair at his temples. Arthur wiped them away and watched as Jim sucked in his last wet breath. 

Panic bubbled up inside of him. 

Jim was dead. He had killed him. He had shot his friend. He killed him. He killed him.

His breathing became shallow and he stumbled away from the cooling corpse of his only friend. 

Arthur made it five feet before he doubled over and spilled his guts. He gagged as bile and that morning's meal came back up. 

He glanced behind himself and retched a second time. 

Jim was staring right back at him. 

More bile spewed from his lips and he swayed with the effort. Two large hands grabbed his arms, keeping him upright. 

"Arthur, calm down. It's alright son." Dutch was there. He let himself be pulled backward. 

"I killed him Dutch. I killed him." He felt tears well in his eyes. A moment later they spilled down his cheeks. 

"Shh, shh, it's ok." He sucked in a shaky breath and buried his head in Dutch's chest. The older man wrapped his arms around Arthur's head. 

"He was gonna-" A sob bubbled up and cut off his words. Dutch ran a hand over the back of his head and shushed him. 

"It's ok, Arthur. You did good." He shuddered against Dutch, sucking in shallow breaths. 

Jim's face kept replaying in his mind. His dead eyes were burned into his head. 

"Dutch, I, I shot him." He sniffled and Dutch rubbed circles into his back. 

"He broke the rules, Arthur. You did the right thing."

**Author's Note:**

> Do I make Arthur hurt, when I'm hurting? Yes.


End file.
